Analysis of French Influence on

English Language
Dr. Abin Chakraborty
Assistant Professor in English
Chandernagore College
 Historical Context
• In 1066, the Norman invasion of Britain led to William
the Conqueror becoming the King of Britain and the end
of Anglo-Saxon rule.
• The Normans were from the northern French province
of Normandy and Norman Conquest of Britain led to the
introduction and establishment of French rule in Britain.
• Norman French thus became the official language of the
court, the judiciary, the church and the world of elite
living.
• This set the platform for Norman-French influence on
English language
 Defining Features
• Unlike the Scandinavian language French not only
belonged to a different linguistic branch but also
carried a different culture altogether.
• The democratic mingling between the Scandinavians
and the English was also absent in case of Normans
and Britons as the former considered themselves
both politically and culturally superior.
• This had a significant impact on the nature of the
linguistic impact, leading to a series of aristocratic
and technical words.
 Vocabulary
• Administrative Words: crown, state, reign,
sovereign, people, chancellor, parliament,
exchequer, govern, power, authority, minister
etc.
• Words related to Feudalism: The word ‘feudal’
itself is a French loan. Other such words
include vassal, prince, duke, war, peace, battle,
sergeant, arms, armour, enemy, vessel, troops,
dragoon, liege etc.
 Vocabulary
• Words related to Law: judge, jury, suit, fine, fee,
attorney, plaintiff, summon, assize, heritage,
assize, petty, privilege etc.
• Words related to Church and theological ideas:
religion, saint, preach, baptism, relic, trinity,
sacrifice, beauty, mercy, chaste, honour, glory etc.
• Words related to master-servant relationship:
sir, madam, mistress, obey, servant, poor, rent,
serve etc.
 Vocabulary
• Culinary Words: Various food items associated with
French cuisine made their way into English
language: dinner, supper, boil, beef, mutton, feast,
veal, venison, brown, sauce, toast, sausage.
Interestingly the animals from which such meat and
dishes were derived continued to retain their English
names, i.e. sheep, deer, ox, calf, swine etc.
• Words elated to aristocratic leisure: falcon, chase,
trap, cards, dice, leash, quarry, scent, trump, partner
etc.
 Vocabulary
• Words related to art, architecture and fashion: art,
dress, colour, paint, beauty, pillar, cattle, arch,
palace, apparel, costume, column, aisle, vault,
porch, chapel, mansion.
• Words related to family relationships: uncle, cousin,
nephew, niece, grandmother, grandfather.
• Words related to tradesmen and artisans: Some
traders and artisans who came into contact with the
aristocratic classes also acquired French names:
tailor, mason, painter, butcher, guard etc.
• Miscellaneous non-technical terms: arrive, letter,
nurse, reason, age, garage etc.
 Synonyms
• French influence led to an abundance of synonyms in the
English language and enriched the capacity of the language to
express subtler shades of meaning.
• In case of synonyms, the English word was often more
colloquial and intimate while the French equivalent was more
formal, refined and literary.
English French
Hut Cottage
Folk People
Hearty Cordial
Darling Favourite
Hinder Prevent
begin commence
 Hybrids and Derivatives
• English affixes were added to French stems and French
affixes were added to English stems leading to the
production of countless hybrids.
• English suffixes with French stems: dukedom, faintness,
sweetness, preaching, princely etc.
• French suffixes with English stems: goddess, shepherdess,
breakage, leakage, beautiful, powerful, bakery, fishery,
murderous, thunderous etc.
• Derivatives: New French loan words often gave rise to a
host of derivatives. E.g. ‘Due’, borrowed from French, gave
rise to such derivatives as ‘duty’, ‘dutiful’, duteous, dutiable
etc.
 Phonology, Syntax, Accidence, Spelling
• Phonology: Some of the original French loans like real, formal
were accented on the second syllable in keeping with French
pronunciation. However, after the Renaissance and Latin
influence, the accent shifted to the first syllable.
• Syntax: The popularity of the phrasal genitive in ME was probably
due to French influence. The son of David (as opposed to David’s
son) corresponds identically to “le fils de David” in French.
• Accidence: The illogical grammatical gender of OE was gradually
replaced by neutral gender owing to French influence. Also,
originally ‘thou’ was singular and ‘you’ was plural. French
influence led to ‘you; being used as both singular and plural.
• Spelling: French loans often included words derived from Latin.
Initially they retained their French spellings but after the
Renaissance reverted back to their Latin spellings. So a’venture
became adventure, Avril became April etc.
 Aftermath
• Although Latin influence during the Renaissance led
to decline in French influence, since the Restoration
Age, English has frequently borrowed and re-
borrowed from French, without changing either
spelling or pronunciation.
• The impact of French on English was quite pervasive
and enriched the flexibility and connotative range of
the language. The original Germanic robustness was
fused with the suppleness usually found in romance
languages, giving English a unique versatility.